Well plug



Oct. 2, 1928.

F. J. sPANG WELL PLUG Filed Jan. 9, 1926 www Y ywmvv wim/eases PatentedGet. 2,1923. v l

PANfQnBUTLniniSENNsYLvANrA, AcoRPoRn'rIoN oiiiPnnNsYivANrA.' Y.

e WELL HUG. I

application led l'aniiary r4This `'iii'venifion relates toL deep welltools for use in connectiony with oil wells orthe lilre'andmorefparticularly'. to the so called i' well hole'plugs such'as arecommonly used foi-*plugging the bottom ,of a well hole for the purposeofstopping the seepage of water upwardly from the top. The

i such contactwith the wall as to plug the.

into the well through crevicesin the bottom vwallwhen the well hasbeendriven into a water stratum. Y

sisted of a cylindricalplug of soft metal such as lead having a taperedmandrelprojecting plug mandrel areylowered to 'the bottom of the wellhole and the mandrelis then driven into the plug by a downward jarringso as to expand the soft metal 'and force'` it into therein.

A furtherpiobject of this invention is Vto '"'provide a device of thetype set forthv having j facture, easy f 'l rfmeans for closing orshutting olf the well above the plug. v

VA still further plug which will be relatively cheap to manutomanipulate and positive Vin operation.

art are attained by .means of this invention, one form of which .isillustrated in theac companyingA drawing,v in vwhich* Figure ly is alongitudinal sectional view through a well plug constructed in'accordance with one form'of this invention. Fig. 2 isa plan view of the.plug proper with the expandingnian- 'drel removed. Fig. 3 is asectional plan view v of a well hole diagrammatically showing ka creviceto be sealed and Fig. 4 is a' vertical sectional view thereof. i Y.

The illustrated embodiment of this invenition includes'acylindricalvplug 5 which is preferably formed of relatively soft,mallea- Heretofore5 such tools have usually con-Vv object is to providea well.

These and other objectsvhich warb@ obvious'to those skilled in thisparticular! 9, 192e.tv serial im 86,7232.'

ble metaly such,A forv example@ as leadl and 1 which is provided with aseries of circurnfen V'entialgrooves' Shaving rings or 'Aannuli 7embedded therein. rlheseV annular members are preferably formed 'of somematerial7 such as crude or partially-vulcanized rubber or the likelwhich `is soft and adapted toiiow easilyv under pressure. e j

A Amandrel Sillas a serratedend 9 positioned ina vbore 10 formed at oneenjd of the inetal plug; The mandreluprojects abovethe. plug and has atapered' surface 1Q. whichV `diverges towardits upper' end. A pluralityof split rings or washers `l1 are positioned on the end 'of the plugaroundV the mandrel and are so positioned relatively to one another thatthe splits l1 are in staggered relation.'V The mandrel has `a hook 12ersimilar device by which it may be wired to the string f oftools.v

Assuming that'a well'l has been drilled through the oil bearing stratumandhas penetrated to a level where water seeps into the Abottom of thewell hole through Vcrevices 114,

the well plug is vsecured to Vthe end offa string` of tools by arelatively small wirel5. orftlie i like and lowered into position atthebott'oni ofthe well hole. K en downwardly throughthe plug-'bydownwardjarring of the tools. .f Driving the ta pered section l()v ofthe mandrel into the plugr v causes the latter to spread or expandoutwardly and to lbe pressed against the'wall of the The mandrel 8 isthe'ndriwV .l

well holev with considerable pressure.l The :soft annular inserts 7 willflow more readily than the metal and be forced more effectively into theadjacent crevices ofthe wall soi asto eifectually .close the same andstop "the seep- 1 i age of watertherefrom. Drivingthe man? 'drel intothe Vplug also causes the split rings 11 to'be expanded outwardly asindicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, sothat they arenforceid laterallyinto the wallto `close the wellholcr above the plug and` seal ythe upperendv of the space `or joint between the plug-andthe wall Each inse-rt 7not only closes all crevices with which. it is brought intoassociationbut also Yforms, an effective seal against the upward passage vof, wateralong the surface j of the plug 5 because the expansion ofthe plug willc cause'the insert 7 to'swell and flow outwardly beyond the surface of`the leadenplug itself. The wire l5 isvbroken by theVA downward ich' Aof the hole so' that no fluid can pass upwardly v 4around the outersurface of the well'plug.`AV

- by Letters Patent is:

1 tion and said inserts. f

ilyv be withdrawn from the Well.

What I claim as new and desire to secure Y 1. The `,combination `in aWellkplug of an elongated body portion of malleable metal provided Withav plurality of grooves in the outer face thereof, inserts of readily`flowing rubber mounted in said grooves andfa Vta- 1 pered mandrel forexpanding said body por- 2f The combination in a yvell plugof a ta-Washers surrounding said mandrel` on top'of-V said plug so as to beexpanded: bymovement of said mandrel relatively; thereto, Vsaid Wash.ers being so positioned relatively to one an,-

f other that the splits thereof are in staggered relation. Y

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this seventhday ofy J anuary, 1926. Y .Y

e FERDINAND J.'V SPANG-1

